001-003 » a chilling mathias welcome

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: The east end of Mathias, along the waterfront.
WHEN: Days 001-003
WHAT: The newest residents of Mathias Township are welcomed with a storm.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: A small love letter from your mod. This spot can be used for plotting.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Mara"

DAY 001
THE ARRIVAL BEGINS

Is it the whooshing crash of waves on dark jagged rocks that wakes you? Perhaps. It might also be the near-continuous rumble of thunder growing closer every second, the vibrations almost seeming to come from the wet sand beneath your hands. Or maybe it’s the shivering of your own body as water recedes from the pebble-covered shore, the cold sinking into your very bones as a chilled wind picks up. It could be any of these things that rouse you from a deep slumber that leaves you feeling groggy and out of sorts--

But it’s the fear that gets you moving. A deep, intense terror grips your chest and squeezes the breath right out of you, and you know without a shred of doubt that you have mere minutes before whatever it is you’re so afraid of arrives on that stretch of rocky beach to greet you. Even if you want to stay rooted to that spot and faced it head-on, your body betrays you, a survival instinct etched into your genetic code forcing you to seek shelter.

Welcome to Mathias. You should probably run now.



THE STORM ARRIVES

When the storm crashes into the small township, it's hard to remember what life was like before it. The ocean becomes a raging thing, waves rising and falling as if trying to attack whatever they can reach along the coast. Any foolish enough to venture along the beach have no hope of surviving the encounter; their bodies will be swept out with the current, gone in the blink of an eye.

The wind is a howling beast, screaming between buildings and driving spikes of cold into any crevice it can reach. The rain is just shy of freezing, every drop like a shard of icicle trying to itself into your skin. It will bite at your nerves and leave you shaking if you stay out in it too long, so you had best get inside if you haven't already. You certainly don't want to attract the attention of the lightning that arcs in the sky like a vengeful god ready to unleash its wrath.

The Grey Gull restaurant sits at the edge of the town along the beach, and just a few yards away are two parallel rows of houses lining what might be a picturesque street if the world weren't beginning to resemble an apocalyptic landscape.

Move quickly, and choose wisely.

DAY 002
THE STORM RAGES ON

The storm has somehow become even more violent overnight. The world outside your shelter might be trapped in an endless night, for all you can see through the thick covering of storm clouds. Lightning continues to streak across the sky, thunder following almost immediately in its wake, threatening just how near those spikes of electricity truly are. You can see them touch the shore at times, even the street between the homes, but never the buildings themselves. A blessing, perhaps, or an oddity to take note of?

Some may be foolish enough to try venturing outside. They are welcome to, of course, that is their right, but the rain is still like ice and that lightning is so very near. You may try heading further into town, and you can certainly see buildings beyond this row of houses, but should you walk toward them...

Well. It is far from a pleasant experience. Exhaustion sinks into your bones so quickly that it leaves you reeling, and every second you push through it makes you physically ill with a feeling that you might collapse at any moment. The second you turn away from that path, however, you feel infinitely, and even more so each step back the way you came.

Something wants you to stay where you are. Perhaps you should.

DAY 003
THE CALM DESCENDS

The third day begins much as the second, with waves crashing upon the shore and thunder booming with such force that the ground seems to shake. It feels very much like the world might end right there, torn apart by a force of nature unlike any seen before. Any who venture outside at this time are almost immediately afflicted with a terror so intense that they can make it no more than a few yards or the short distance to cross a street before they become incapacitated by the fear that sets their heart beating dangerously fast. The term scared to death may very well become literal this day.

And then, suddenly it stops. The rain, thunder, lighting— all if it just stops and the silence that fills the night is deafening. There are no sounds of life within the town, no car motors or dogs barking or the voices of anyone beside those new arrivals in the immediate vicinity. In fact, none of those things even exist in Mathias. There are no cars, no animals or insects, no other people. There is just... emptiness and silence.

It may be best to wait until daylight to move further inland.



THE NIGHT DARKENS

For those who are foolish enough to leave the relative safety of the cluster of houses near the Grey Gull, they will find their journey quite chilling, in a very literal sense. There is another row of houses beyond where they had been, branching off on either side into a neighborhood. There are no lights on in any of these homes, though there are occasional streetlights illuminating their way. But as they continue further, reaching a third block of houses, those lights begin to dim, until they have gone out completely, and what had previously been a simple fall chill becomes biting cold as the temperature sharply drops.

In all of this, there is silence. No sounds travel through that night air to comfort them, and even looking up to the sky stretched out above them offers little reassurance. That sky is black, without a single star and not even the faintest outline of the moon to guide them. All that reaches them here is the barest hint of light traveling from the way they've come. The longer they linger outside in this place, the colder it will become, and any light they carry with them will slowly begin to dim as well.

Truly, they should have waited until the sun rose once more.

---

LOCATIONS

THE GREY GULL is what one might expect of the most frequented restaurant in a small coastal town. The wrap-around porch is lined with white chairs characterized by peeling paint. Exposed wooden walls and worn seating speak to its many years of existence, and the mishmash of décor confirms that the owner never much cared for how the place looked. What mattered here was the food, and faded chalk menus advertise soup specials and a daily pie. The bar appears to have once been well-stocked, but all the bottles remaining are unfortunately empty. There is, however, quite a bit of food in the kitchen that is somehow as fresh as if it were purchased that day.

The second floor of the restaurant is a sparsely furnished apartment. There are no personal items to be found; perhaps it was waiting to be rented out to someone.

THE HOUSES are well-kept, middle-class homes, four lining either side of the street. Their doors are unlocked, windows unshuttered, and everything within feels like the owners might return at any second. There is running water and electricity, fresh food in the fridge, photographs on the wall... but also dust everywhere. If you didn't know better, you'd say the place had been abandoned for years, and yet nothing has aged. It is both strange and unsettling, and yet no matter how hard you search, no answers may be found within these homes.

What can be found within them, however, is a phone. One single black phone within a main room of the house, and beside it, a list of handwritten numbers and names that have been crossed out.

1302 8-5491 Thomasen
1304 8-9256 Lyrie
1306 8-4712 Anders
1308 8-3201 Mulcalley

1301 8-0415 Sanderson
1303 8-6762 Reese
1305 8-9132 Evers
1307 8-9025 Hirano

Should your character choose to shelter in one of the houses, you are welcome to choose the features of that particular unit. Please reply to the comment thread below with the details you decide upon, specifying the house number in the subject line.

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Comments

[hellblaze]

[ Normally he wouldn't think twice about the place being as dusty as a grandmother's attic. Except he's agitated, frustrated, and a girl that's nice on the eyes looks like she's half-dead. If that's because of the storm or something else... well. None of his business, and he doesn't much care to know either.

Maybe once his mood has improved. ]

Leave it to the pockets to always screw it up. [ John puts his hands on the counter and easily rolls with the sarcastic joke. It's right up his alley. ] Thought not. Can't blame a man for trying.

[ Given he can't find gin to warm himself up? Coffee is the next best thing. He clicks his tongue to his teeth and gently smacks the counter before heading to the kitchen and untucking his shirt. Might as well try to wring it out as much as possible.

His voice comes from the kitchen as he rummages for a decent looking mug. ]

Now, I suppose you got stuck out in that damn storm too. I'm guessing you also woke up on our very lovely beach out there.

[chuju]

[ Agitated, frustrated, cold; Daisy is all of those things, along with a good heaping dose of utterly exhausted. If Sousa were here, he'd probably be constructing her a bed to rest on out of tablecloths and chairs. (Though, honestly, that sounds pretty good right now. Not that she's going to let herself rest.)

She watches him head back to the kitchen, probably to get the previously mentioned coffee, and she can distantly hear him moving around in the other room, just out of sight. ]

Your powers of deduction are astounding. [ That sarcasm is still there, but just like before, it isn't the hostile kind. If she were being hostile, they'd be having a very different kind of conversation. Rubbing at her hands, she contemplates for half a second before taking a leap. ]

You have any idea what brought us here? [ Might as well start gauging who he is and what his connection to all this might be. ]

[hellblaze]

[ He'll probably find some corner to go sleep in if exhaustion hits him badly enough. For now? He's letting his good ol' fashion stubbornness guide him. As if that's never bit him in the ass before.

A few minutes later he comes back from the kitchen. He really is tempted to just bring the whole coffee maker out with him and place it on top of the counter. One cup isn't going to be enough when you've been chilled damn near to the bone. He comes to stand beside her, grabbing the towel and haphazardly dusting away from her before sitting down and putting his arms on the counter. He sighs and places his thumb to his forehead as he tries to calm his mind long enough to answer her properly. ]

Oh, that's me. A regular ol' Sherlock Holmes. [ Part of him wanted to gag at the idea. He inhales and tapes his thumb on the counter. ] I've got several ideas.

[chuju]

[ Daisy doesn't feel safe enough to try sleeping here, not when she can barely feel the tell-tale buzzing of bees in her bones. It's unsettling to be without her powers, especially when she doesn't know if they'll—

No. She isn't thinking about that. Focus on the problem at hand, deal with her trauma later. Or never. Never sounds pretty good.

When he returns, she just watches him, not having the energy to move just yet and wanting to hear what he has to say just in case it's something good. Her hope is very low but it's worth a try. At least his sarcasm is amusing. ]

Any gems you'd care to share, Mr. Holmes?

[hellblaze]

[ Mr. Holmes. Really. Then again, he's dabbled in things like the man in the novels. Maybe it isn't too far off the mark. ]

Summoning spells aren't difficult - usually requires you to know what you're summoning. Which would mean we're either an accident or on purpose by name. [ There is a pause as he takes a drink from the cup. He makes a face -- what sort of flavor is this? ] Kidnapping is also an option, though usually, they like to tie you up without safe words and leave you in a basement or some warehouse guarded with ransom. I don't know about you, luv, but people would probably just outright kill me as opposed to screw around with the money.

[ Then he leans back in the seat. His fingers still tapped on the counter. ] Or, we could of been going about mindin' our own business, and each of us found little cracks in reality. Got ourselves fallin' down into an alternate reality. Doubt that though, it usually requires soul transference and is a bit of a pain.

[ John rolls his head to look at her with a smirk on his face. ] Not that most people are going to buy any of those options. Most can't understand that ghosts are as real as Heaven and Hell, let alone magic.

[chuju]

[ Hey there, Holmes. Don't be picky about the coffee that's somehow still fresh in the middle of this creepy apocalyptic storm. Drink it and be grateful it's hot.

As he lists his various ideas with a range of elaboration, Daisy wonders briefly if she's being punked. Is that still a thing? She's a few years out of touch with pop culture now. But the longer he goes on, the more she gets the feeling he isn't joking, and the more she starts to believe the possibility of one of those theories being true. By the end, she's really wishing all those bottles weren't empty. ]

You'd be surprised what I'm willing to believe. [ She rubs her hands over her face, fingers pressing at her eyes as she fights to order her thoughts. Then she drops her hands and turns to better face her strange new companion. ]

Kidnapping is pretty common in my line of work, though usually I'm being tortured by now, so this would definitely be unusual. Cracks in reality — it wouldn't be the first time. As for magic... Well, anything besides the Darkhold is beyond my area of expertise.

[hellblaze]

[ He'll still drink it even if it tastes beyond bitter. Might need some sugar for the next cup.

A sigh leaves him, more nerves than anything. The tiredness is setting in a bit. Stumbling up from the beach, angrily sulking around, throwing some bottles down. Now that he is actually sitting down and processing things? He feels like a truck ran him over. One of those big ones too. ]

You're one of the few. [ He watches her reaction closely. Well, better than what he normally gets. She isn't rolling her eyes and laughing him out of the restaurant just yet. ] Can't say I'm familiar with the Darkhold, luv. You may need to fill the gaps of my knowledge in a bit on that one.

Sounds like you're used to the creepy and unusual side of reality that exists. That might make things go a bit easier moving forward.

[chuju]

[ Cheers to feeling like you've been run over by a truck. He's in good company on that one. Though Daisy would really rather have something else in common besides that... ]

My unusual tends to be less creepy and more alien in nature. [ She lets out a deep sigh and sets an elbow on the counter so she can prop her head on a hand, watching his reaction just as he'd watched her. ] Superpowers, time travel, robots. That sort of thing.

[ Not that she doesn't recognize 'magic' as a thing. Science beyond their comprehension, as SHIELD had learned from encounters with Asgardians and creepy books that taught how to open portals to other worlds and create organic life. All of this, though... She's still hoping it'll turn out to be something simple like aliens. Please just be aliens. ]

[hellblaze]

[ Big nasty trucks and horrible life decisions. Sounds like a good start to a friendship. ]

Alien. That's a new one. [ He shrugs. There's no argument from him that those are out there somewhere. Dimensions, other planes of realities, Heaven and Hell? It's like his weekend wrapped up in a bow. He looks over at her . ] What sort of robots?

[chuju]

[ There are worse ways to start a friendship.

A new one? She frowns at that, adding a few more questions to her very long list, but decides to hold off on those for the moment. His question is easier to tackle by far. ] The kind that look exactly like us and usually have our memories. Also the alien kind that look like us and steal our faces and sometimes memories.

[hellblaze]

Oh, the sort you see in movies and the sort. Well, there's always a nugget of truth in everything. The creative minds latch onto concepts and ideas then put them out in how they can interpret them the best. Usually why you see the same sort of things repeat themselves. Makes sense they're real somewhere out there.

[ Faces and memories. Oh. ] Doubt aliens who would want our memories and faces would let us wallow on the beachfront and the restaurant for long. Good news, though, I doubt this is a demonic intention. They tend to be a bit egotistical and brag about it as they go about it.

[chuju]

[ She could go into a very long explanation about how LMDs were created (by a mad scientist who missed his wife and then created an AI that wanted to take over the world), but this doesn't really seem like the time for it. Nor does an explanation of Chronicoms feel very fitting, since she'd have to go into their homeworld being destroyed by an alien parasite and their deciding Earth would be a great substitute. Some things to save for another time. ]

Okay, so not demons. And not alien robots, they're not this creative. The regular robots aren't likely either. So then what other creepy possibilities are there?

[hellblaze]

Oh, plenty of other creepy things exist out there. Just because it isn't in the realm of the Heaven or Hell doesn't mean we're begging for scraps. Could even be something from Babylon depending on how, ah, ancient we feel like digging into.

[ He shrugs and tilts his head side to side to pop his neck. ] Maybe even bloody Aztec gods for all I know. We'd need more information. I'm guessing something powerful though... something that can act fast and across dimensional planes.

[chuju]

[ Daisy watches him as he speaks, her expression growing increasingly blank the more he elaborates. Her eyes aren't glazing over though, she is absolutely paying attention — she's just having a slight Blue Screen of Death moment at the revelation that there are a whole lot of other players she hadn't been aware of. What are the chances that these entities are aliens just like Asgardians had been? And, if so, what are the chances that they'll be easier to deal with than Asgardians? (She would not bet on her odds for either.)

When he finishes, she covers her eyes with a hand, scrunching up her nose in dismayed frustration, and then lets her hand drop away a bit dramatically. ] Why can't it just be aliens? I can handle aliens. I've been handling them for the past two years. I'll have you know, I have made a lot of aliens in nearby galaxies, it could easily be one of them.

[ She is 82% sure it's not, though. Unfortunately. Excuse her for having a Moment, Mr. Holmes. ]

[hellblaze]

[ His eyebrows raise at that expression. Oh, he knows it well. That look of believing in something but not quite realizing how massive that something might be. She asked for his opinion though. He doesn't regret telling her any of it. ]

Life is never as easy as we'd like it. [ Now, he's wondering when this conversation got a bit heavy. Not the sort of heavy he liked either. ] What sort of alien do you think it might be? What one in that catalog of yours would kidnap a bunch of sorry sods like us and drop us on a beach in the middle of a hurricane?

[chuju]

[ She doesn't regret asking for his opinion. Well, not quite, though there are fleeting moments. It might be a whole lot more than she'd bargained for, but her life has had a lot of those revelations and she's somehow survived all of them so far. ]

...I don't know. [ It feels defeatist to admit it, but it's true. ] I've got a list of enemies a mile long, but most of them know me as the Destroyer of Worlds and usually ran for the proverbial hills after they got a taste of my powers. And the ones that didn't... This doesn't feel like them.

[ What she wouldn't give for a beer right now. ]

[hellblaze]

That makes two of us.

[ John turns his gaze to the empty bottles in front of them. There's plenty of things he could think that would want to go after him. Everyone else? Not so much. Demons and spirits and loads of ghosts waiting for him to croak so they can get their revenge on him. Or, so he'll finally trip down into Hell and they can feel vindicated. Not yet though. Not yet. There's one person he has to save before then. ]

Destroyer of Worlds? That's a bit of a nifty name. You could do a lot with a name like that. [ He just makes a tch sound. ] Most people just end up cursing my name. Or, Bastard.

[ The last bit is thrown in with a quick smirk, trying to get her to laugh. ]

[chuju]

[ She kind of shrugs at the reference to just one of the many names she's had. It hadn't been one she'd at all appreciated when she'd first received it, but eventually she'd claimed it as her own. Now it was known throughout parts of the universe, for better or worse. At least it packed more of a punch than Daisy Johnson.

Not that she doesn't love her name. There's a reason she's decided to use it after finally finding it. But when making an impression... Quake, Destroyer of Worlds. Every time. ]

Well, that's nothing to slouch at. [ No laugh, but he does get a smile. ] What is that name that people like to curse, anyway?

[hellblaze]

[ That's when she could find a way to make her actions synonymous with her name. Not that John necessarily meant for that to happen with his... but, that was what the reputation behind it happened. Demons knew it and tended to either run screaming or throw a tantrum like they were a bloody two year old. Humans? They usually told him to screw off. All of it is earned.

Her question is met by him turning in the chair to look at her. An easy grin is on his face t hen, as if the bit of a dark cloud that was over his head is gone. Poof. ]

John Constantine. [ He offers a hand. ] And what might the lovely Destroyer of Worlds call herself on her days off?

[chuju]

[ He's got a nice smile. She can easily see how someone might want to punch it right off his face, which just makes her smile more. In the insanity that has been her life for... a while now, it's kind of nice to have a moment like this, all things considered.

She takes that offered hand, smile still firmly in place. ] Daisy Johnson. I'm with SHIELD, on my on and off days.

[ SHIELD is her life, and she wouldn't have it any other way. ]

[hellblaze]

Daisy. Nice peppy name. Certainly doesn't instill fear into the hearts of worlds. More like kittens. [ He grins more, hoping to get a laugh out of her. Not just because she's pretty - although she is - it's more the fact that he can sense they've walked similar paths. And no one's path should be similar to his.

Too many dead friends, broken lives, and bodies on the sidewalk of that path. ]

Can't say I'm familiar with SHIELD. Not too surprising, there's some parts of the world I leave to others.

[chuju]

[ He succeeds in his mission this time. Her jaw drops in reaction to what some might consider a bit of an insult despite it being completely true, and then she can't help but grin and laugh. It's a quiet laugh though, and doesn't last very long, but still. It feels good to laugh. Feels like it's been years.

Dead friends and broken lives... They really do have a lot in common, don't they?

Any trace of laughter disappears completely at the next thing he says, and she frowns at the admission. ] It might seem like a crazy question, but what year was it for you?

[hellblaze]

[ Score one for the great John Constantine. Ha. He's got the charm to make lovely ladies laugh still, despite the storm outside. That's a nice pad to the ego. ]

Oh, about 2014ish. I never bothered to look at a calendar much. [ John looks over at her. ] I'm guessing I'm a few years off your mark.

[chuju]

[ That's what she'd been afraid of. Sighing heavily, she nods in confirmation and once again wishes for that beer. ]

A few, and a lot. I'm from 2019, but I was in 1983 before this. [ She sits up properly again, stretching her back slightly and trying not to wince as it aggravated the deep bruising there. ] But that basically confirms that we're from different worlds. Aliens invaded New York in 2012 and SHIELD became a household name after that. So if you're not familiar with either...

[hellblaze]

2019 but in 1983 before. That sounds like a story, Daisy.

[ He raises an eyebrow. Huh. Well, color him curious. There are spells that would take you to other planes of existence, other dimensions, time isn't too far off the mark. He just hasn't done it himself.

Yet. ]

Definitely not familiar. Not surprised on the other worlds bit either. The concept of the multiverse isn't a new one to those who know how the worlds really are.